Champagne Pool Wai-O-Tapu
The north Island has a lot to offer in scenery and culture. This New Zealand North Island itinerary of 7 days is designed to give you a little taste of the scenery, culture and diversity of this magnificent country.
Traveling from the city of Auckland through the rich lush farmlands of the Waikato, the geothermal wonderlands of Rotorua, Art Deco at it finest and eventually ending up in the Capital city of Wellington.
New Zealand North Island Itinerary 7 day
Day 1:-
Arrive into Auckland International airport
Pick up you vehicle, whether a Campervan or a car.
Make your way to an overnight stop.
My recommendation is Ramarama Country Caravan Park, there are very few others close to the airport.
Day 2:-
Travel to Rotorua Via Waitomo caves.
Total distance approx 330kms
Total drive time approx 4.5hrs
Waitomo Caves
Setting off in the morning Via Sate H'Way 1 and head for the Waitomo Caves.
After your visit to the Glowworm caves, head east over the Kaimai Mamaku Ranges to Rotorua.
There is two routes to take. One via Tirau, the "Corrugated iron" capital of New Zealand. Here you will find some interesting creations, or travel over the Arapuni hydroelectric dam which spans the mighty Waikato river, stop and take a walk over the swing bridge in the Arapuni township.
Overnight in Rotorua, the geothermal and cultural capitals of New Zealand.
Day 3:-
Day to explore this geothermal wonderland at your own pace.
Waimangu Geothermal area
Rotorua has plenty to see and do. Some suggestions include:-
- The Agrodome - great place especially if you are travelling with children.
- Rainbow Springs - Introduction to New Zealand wildlife and the all important Kiwi bird - Fun water slide for children and adults alike
- Te Puia - provides you with a geothermal and Maori cultural experience
- The Rotorua Duck - is an old WW2 amphibian vehicle that takes you to and into, the local lakes and surrounding area
- Skyline Gondola - Take a ride on the Gondola and have an exhilarating luge adventure down the side of the mountain - Another great activity for children
Day 4:-
Leave Rotorua and travel over some spectacular countryside to Napier.
Total distance approx 220kms
Total drive time approx 3hrs
Napier Art Deco Capital
On route to Napier there are some great sight seeing opportunities, starting with viewing the Huka falls and the start of the Waikato river. Have a leisurely lunch stop at Taupo beside New Zealand's largest lake. Try your hand at hitting a hole in one onto the lakeside pontoon.
Waipunga Falls
Leaving Lake Taupo make your way over the mountains and ravines to the Art Deco capital of New Zealand, Napier.
Look out for a sign on the left hand side to a scenic lookout and the Waipunga Falls. Approx 53 kms from the Taupo i-Site.
Arrive into Napier and checkout the Art Dec shop and buildings. Napier is a lovely city right on the Eastern sea border.
Day 5:-
Travel day through to Wellington
Total distance approx 330kms
Total drive time approx 4.5hrs
Beehive
Leaving Napier I would recommend taking the coastal road to Hastings, the other city in the Hawks Bay region.
You will pass through orchards of apples pairs and other pip and stone fruit as well as one of the great vineyard regions of New Zealand. Pass through some of the smaller towns like Waipukurau and Dannevirke.
Once you reach the town of Woodville, you have the option of traveling down the centre of the Island into Wellington, or continuing through to the West coast and take State H'Way 1 into Wellington.
Wellington City at Night
My choice is down the centre through a number of historic towns like Greytown. A very quaint little town and ideal for a lunch stop.
Day 6:-
Free day in Wellington
Take the day to explore the great views, art and other interesting features that Wellington has to offer.
Drive up to the top of Mt Victoria and take in the spectacular views of the city. Find the various art sculputers scattered around the city
A trip up and down the Wellington Cable car is always a great ride. Check out the Cable Car Museum or the Wellington Botanical gardens at the top, before descending and time permitting, research Te Papa, the National Museum of New Zealand.
Wellington Cable Car
Finish the day with a drink or meal in either Courtney Place or The Cuba Street Mall. Wellington boasts having more bars, restaurants and eateries per capita than New York city.
Day 7:-
Fly to Auckland or from Wellington, to home.
Sad, but memorable day today as you end your 7 day adventure of the North Island of New Zealand.
You will take many many photos and great memories with you to reflect on and share with your family and friends.
Have you been to any of the places listed? If so please tell us all about your time in the comments section below"-
Have any extra suggestions? Again please leave a comment:-
Hi Mark!
Stoked to see a great outline for a 7 day trip. I often don’t get a ton of time to get in vacations so a 7 day trip is honestly so ideal for me.
Thanks so much for including a well rounded mix of outdoors and nature but still including some city stops. I want to really get a full experience when I go somewhere so this is super important.
I appreciate the read and the good info. Will definitely take it into account when booking my next travel stops!
Dalton,
Yes a lot can be achieved in 7 days. Keep checking back as I am growing the list of Itineraries.
Thank you for your comments.
Mark
Wow! I really need to pack my luggage immediately! New Zealand is definitely one destination that I have to visit.
Your screenshots of Wellington scenery really make me want to be there immediately. Or I should move my home there?
When is the best time to visit New Zealand? I don’t fancy weather that is too cold or too hot. 😀
Arief,
Thank you for your comments. Yes you really should come visit.Wellington does have some great vantage points. The weather here can vary and very quickly. We often say we have 4 seasons in a day. The further south you go usually, the colder but Places like Central Otago have some scorchers in the Summer but snow in the winter.
I love traveling over the ditch to NZ but yet to do a campavan holiday there. We hoping to do this exact trip in December.
Mark, what’s the temperature like in over the Xmas period in the North island?
Thanks for sharing this info.
Vince,
Thanks for your comments and we look forward to seeing you in December.
Interesting you asked about the weather as I have just started a series of posts on the weather here in New Zealand.
https://newzealandbycampervan.co.nz/new-zealand-weather-by-month/
December and January are two of the completed posts so far.
This is really a good info source for the traveler. 7 days also seems to be the an ideal period of time to take a travel break.
Thanks for the very useful info. What time of the year is best to do such trip?
Cheers 🙂
Thank you for your comments.
Yes, 7 days is good especially if you have limited time to be away. The North Island doesn’t have the weather extremes the South Island does. Having said that to get the best of the weather would probably be late January to mid-March.
Mark
Hi Mark
Your site provides very good information with nice pictures and text. Will decide if there will be a trip or not, will contact you if there will be any trip. 🙂
Thank you for your comment. Yes please contact me if you do decide to make a trip here.
Mark